How To Bring Google+ to the Workplace

By Peter Roesler

President, Web Marketing Pros

A recent article by the product management director for Google Apps noted how much web-based collaboration and social tools are really changing how people connect with each other. No matter if you are next door or in different countries, you can easily hold face to face meetings, share business and personal updates with your coworkers, and work on a presentation in real time together. This is now being made even more possible with new updates to Google+.

Product Management Director Clay Bavor thinks that for current Google Apps clients, Google+ also can assist coworkers in collaborating with one another, and get to know each other a bit better as they do so.

That is the reason that Google+ came out with some new features that are designed especially for businesses. They are now in full preview mode for Apps clients. During the period of the preview, any organization that is using Google is going to have access to the new business features of Google+ for no cost through 2013. This free trial will continue as Google continues to add more robust features and administrative controls for businesses.

In recent months, Bavor continued, pilot customers – including Kaplan and Banshee Wines – used Google+ to assist their employees in engaging and connecting with each other. Google worked diligently to incorporate feedback from these pilot customers.

New Features

Google Apps customers will now have more precise control over what is posted to Google+. If you create a new post, you can now note that it is restricted. Restricted posts are private to your company and cannot be shared with anyone outside the organization. Also, when you create a new post, you can share it with partners or colleagues that don’t work for the company, if you wish.

Also, video meetings are now fully integrated with Gmail, Calendar and Docs. When you are using Google Apps, having a face to face meeting with your colleagues or clients isn’t complicated. You just need to have an electronic device with a camera and an Internet hook up. Hangout will let you have as many as 10 people join a video meeting from any electronic device with video capability.

Regarding admin controls, the new Google+ features will help to ensure that you only are sharing with people that you intended. Administrators are able to set company-wide defaults so that there are post restrictions.

As you can see, Google+ is really striving to give Google Apps customers new tools to help employees collaborate and connect.